8 To Go! This Is Where Our Bracket Of Christmas Classics Gets Interesting

Update: Round 3 voting is closed. On to the festive four!

What we have here is your typical yuletide case of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Given that this is 2020, where all things are possible, we shouldn't have been surprised.

"O Holy Night" or "Joy To The World?"

Two carols enter. Only one can leave.

Unfortunately, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” lived up to its name — it lost and went home — and didn’t even come close to “O Holy Night.” Same for “O Christmas Tree” in the matchup with “Joy.” We don’t envy your choices now that we’re down to eight carols after chopping the seasonal 16 in half.

“Carol of the Bells” — which debuted during the Great Depression — hasn’t quite been a sleeper, but it has certainly been modest in its march through the bracket so far. Will the carol, and its four opening notes that repeat throughout the song, have enough to pull it into the final four?

We honestly can’t guess. A lot of us were on Team Wenceslas and had to sheepishly ask about refunds on the giant “We’re No. 1” foam fingers after the good king was bounced in the first round. It’s anybody’s game right now.

Third-round voting is open through Dec. 6. We’ll announce the carols that move on and open round 4 voting on Dec. 7. We’ll declare a champ on Dec. 14. And don’t forget to listen to CPR Classical’s Carol Countdown on Saturday, Dec. 12 starting at 2 p.m.

Votes in the bracket will be used to help arrange the annual CPR Classical Carol Countdown. You can find the rest of our holiday programming here.

CPR Classical's Marilyn Cooley contributed to this story.